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4C Suspension repeater telltale lights

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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 06:09   #11
PEGE63
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I was not trying to pick a fight with my reply so apologise if I did.
May I suggest a possible solution that might be a short term fix until you can solve the ‘remote leds’. How about sticking something to the middle button to allow u to locate this ‘blindly’ without looking down.It will allow you to place your left hand over the 3 buttons and press the one you want quickly while still viewing the road ahead. Might mean you will just press the button with no affect if it’s already in the setting you want but at least you do not have to look down.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 11:17   #12
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Braille Buttons! An idea that I've already got in use for the EPB! That's more about reach as the car is always stationary when the button is needed to be pushed. I have some little transparent self adhesive bumper buttons for drawers and doors that will do the job, although the issue of the suspension controls is as much about know which setting is selected without having to look or reach for it.

My experience is that many car designers mistakenly believe that some settings are only selected by the driver before he drives away and are left in that selection until he ends his journey. I had a similar experience with the transmission "Sports" setting button on a previous car where it turned out that use of the button could be made an integral part of dynamic driving and not a "decision for the day". I think that the 4C suspension setting are the same.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 11:29   #13
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And here is the Braille Button for suspension setting!
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Old Jun 21st, 2018, 13:47   #14
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The smoke would come from the add-on LEDs, not from the switch. Those inside the switch are already saved by their own resistors.

The poles I listed are the signals to the LEDs. +12 V is applied to turn them on. Return is any ground connection.
The correct resistance to add depends on the LEDs you purchase/install.

Remember that if you are unsure, nothing happens if you press "sport" when sport is already selected.
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Old Jun 21st, 2018, 18:41   #15
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The "Braille Button" works well but there is still an overwhelming urge to look down at the switches to see which LED is illuminated. I added two additional bumps so that I can slide my finger left or right from the centre to operate all the buttons without too much thought. Even once the rep[eaters are installed, the "Braille Buttons" will remain to allow operation without looking down. I'm feeling a little more confident about the repeater LED mod now that I understand the parameters. The only missing detail is the value of the protective resistors that I need to choose to wire into the LED lines if they have not already got them pre-wired. I'm investigating that now.
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Old Jun 21st, 2018, 19:15   #16
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Personally I’m happy with the placement and can normally tell if I’m in advanced due to the stiffer ride over bumpy road surfaces, my ears normally pick it up due to an increased noise.
Each to their own and i’m Interested to see where this goes.

Have you considered/tested the brightness/colours of the LEDS at night?
Maybe a test run at night with something rigged up to 12v direct may help.
Viable in sunlight but not too bright at night and pretty much in you eyeline - what are your thoughts?
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Old Jun 21st, 2018, 22:59   #17
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I understand that you can reduce the brightness of an LED by increasing the resistance value of the resistor in the supply line.

Having the repeaters almost in line of sight means that you can recognise a lit lamp more easily than taking a snatched glimpse at one down near your knees. And two of the LEDs on the switches are the same colour. By the time I get around to actually doing this mod I may know a lot more about LEDs!

I'm not saying that other owners cannot handle this feature adequately, just that I feel that it could have been designed more ergonomically which makes for safer driving, even if only by a small margin.
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Old Jun 25th, 2018, 13:06   #18
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LED crash course:
LEDs glow when voltage is applied in the forward direction.
The LED has a forward voltage drop of about 2 V.
When feeding with 12 V, that means that 10 V will be over the resistor.
If the LED can handle 10 mA, this implies that the resistor should have 1000 Ohm (10/0.01) resistance.

Different LED have soemwhat different characteristics. But with the 1 kOhm resistor I suggest here, it will work. May not glow with the desired intensity, but it will work.
To make LED glow brighter you have to increase the current. But then they'll eventually add smoke to the menu. So to use, say, 50 mA instead of 10 mA, you'll have to pulse the current. 50 mA on for 1 ms, off for four ms, then 50 mA for another millisecond. The eye will remember the bright period across the blanking, and thus register the LED as brighter.

Again, the exact values depend on which LED you want to use. But without the current limiting resistor, it will either not glow at all (reverse direction) or burn immediately (forward direction). You can't even test it briefly without the resistor. If you have it correctly polarized, it will burn in no time.
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Old Jun 25th, 2018, 13:42   #19
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Quote:
If you have it correctly polarised, it will burn in no time.
Not what I wanted to hear but exactly what I needed to know! If I'm lucky I will find ready wired LEDs for 12v vehicle installation complete with the requisite resistors and if they are too bright I will be able to add an addional resistor to dim the light output. It is highly unlikely that ready wired LEDs will be too dim. This is going to be a job with a very long research lead time. Meanwhile I'm disciplining myself to operate the suspension selection buttons "blind" relying on touch and the little self adhesive bumps.
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